Marcus Mariota shines on Letterman

USC AD: Lane Kiffin will be coach next season

Lane Kiffin's job is safe at least for another season. (Harry How/Getty Images)

Despite USC being the first preseason #1 team to lose four regular season games since 1984, athletic director Pat Haden said head coach Lane Kiffin will be the coach next season, reports ESPN.com.

When asked via text message by ESPN.com if Kiffin would be the coach in 2013, Haden said "Absolutely."

The Trojans (No. 18 BCS, No. 21 AP) entered the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, but have lost to Stanford, Arizona, Oregon and UCLA, with three of those losses in the past month, to drop to 7-4.

"Obviously, we're extremely disappointed in the season. We're too talented to have this many losses, and that falls on me," said Kiffin, who is in his third season with USC and has an overall record of 25-11.

Kiffin reportedly escaped the Rose Bowl through an emergency exit to avoid the media after USC lost 38-28 to crosstown rivals UCLA on Saturday. The Trojans play third-ranked and undefeated Notre Dame next week.